Car coupler



w. J. REGAN Oct. 18, 1932.

CAR COUPLER Filed June 24. 1929 Patented Oct. 18, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WILLIAM J. REGAN, OF WILKINSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE MCCONWAY & TORLEY COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENN- SY LVAN IA CAB COUPLER Application filed June 24, 1929. Serial No. 373,242.

This invention relates to jointed car couplers wherein a shank member carrying the coupler head is adapted to swing laterally of the car and transmits bufling shocks to an associated bearing block which has an extended area of contact with the adjacent follower of the draft gear in all buffing positions the coupler may occupy in service.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a simple, rugged and reliably operating jointed coupler of the type indicated whose parts may be readily manufactured and assembled.

A primary feature of the invention consists in providing the shank member of the coupler with a rear wall having front and rear concentrically curved surfaces and in association therewith a bearing block and a key seat member, the latter having a curved face which cooperates with the front curved surface of the shank member and being adapted to cooperate with a transversely extending key for connecting the coupler to the draft gear, and the bearing block, which is adapted to cooperate with the forward follower of a draft gear, having a curved face engaging the rear curved surface of the shank member, the said rear wall of the shank member being centrally aperturedto receive means engaging the key seat member to retain the bearing block in assembled position. There are other features of the invention pertaining to advantageous details of construction and combinations of parts, as will hereinafter appear.

In the drawing illustrating. a preferred em bodiment of the invention:

Figure 1 is a view, partly'in plan and partly in horizontal section, showing a car coupler embodying the invention employed in conjunction with a standard draft yoke.

Figure 2 is a view, partly in plan and partly in horizontal section, showing a car coupler embodying the invention associated with draft gear attachments of the Farlow type.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the coupler, portions being shown in horizontal central section.

Figure 4 is a detail sectional view on the line 1-4: Fig. 3.

shown) upon which a pivoted knuckle and its locking mechanism are mounted.

The shank member 1 is provided at its rear end with a wall 4 whose rear surface 5 is curved and whose forward face 6 is curved so as to be concentric therewith, the rear surface 5 being preferably cylindrical and the forward or interior surface 6, which cooperates with the key seat member 3, being preferably curved vertically as well as horizontally so as to insure that the key seat may accommodate its position to the transversely extending key by which the coupler is connected to the draft gear. The bearing block 2 has a flat rear face 7 enabling it to maintain extended bearing contact with the forward follower of a draft gear in all positions the coupler may assume 'when subjected to buffing forces, while its forward face 8 is concavely curved in correspondence to the curvature of the rear face 5 of the shank member 1.

The key seat member 3 is provided on its forward face with a transversely extending seat or recess 9 to receive the rear edge of a horizontally extending key lO'for connecting the coupler to the draft gear. The rear face 7 11 of the key seat is curved to correspond to the curvature of the interior surface 6 of the coupler shank against which it bears. For accommodating the key seat 3 and the key 10,

the coupler shank member 1 is formed with a transversely extending horizontal slot 12, the rear end of said slot being sufliciently increased in height, as indicated at 18, topermit the introduction of the key seat 3. Clearance permitting the key seat to be assembled with the coupler shank member 1 and to turn relatively thereto in service is effective by forwardly inclining from within outwardly the shoulders 14 formed by the change in height of the slot 12.

The bearing block 2 is maintained in assembled relation to the shank member 1 by being coupled to the key seat member 3. This is effected by providing the bearing block with forwardly extending arms 15 which project through an aperture 16 in the rear wall of the coupler shank and embracingly overlap the key seat 3, the forward ends of said arms being provided with inwardly directed lugs 17 which respectively overlap the front edge of the key seat member above and below the key-receiving groove or recess 9 of the latter. The upper and lower portions 18 of the aperture in the rear wall 4 of the coupler shank through which the connecting arms 15 extend are beveled or flared rearwardly to afford clearance permitting the coupler shank member to have the desired extent of swinging or anglingmovement with respect to the bearing block; and for a similar reason the recesses 19 in the shank in advance of the rear wall 4 to receive the forward portions of the arms 15 are formed with inclined side walls 20.

V The vertical spacing of the arms 15 is preferably such as to enable thestud or projection 21 of a Farlow follower to extend be tween them, the bearing block member 2 being provided with a central aperture 22 for receiving the said stud and the key seat being fashioned on its rear face with a recess 23 suitable for receiving the forward end of the stud 13. To permit the coupler shank member 1 to swing with respect to the bearing block and key seat when the device is employed in conjunction with a follower of the Farlow type, the opening 16 in the rear wall of the shank member is elongated laterally as indicated at 24, thus providing clearance for the stud of the Farlow follower.

To assemble this device the arms 15 of the bearing block are introduced through the hole 16 in the rear wall 4 of the shank and the key seat member 3 is then passed through the enlarged portion 13 of the draft key slot 12 of the coupler shank, thus placing the parts in working position.

I claim:

1. A car coupler involving a shank member having a rear end wall and a transversely extending slot in advance thereof, said rear wall having curved rear and forward surfaces and being centrally apertured, a bearing block having a curved forward face cooperating with said curved rear surface, a key seat member positioned in said slot and having a curved rear face cooperating with said curved forward surface of the rear wall of the shank member, and means extending through the aperture of said wall for connecting said bearing block and said key seat member to retain the bearing block in assembled position.

2. A car coupler involving a shank member having a rear end wall and a transversely extending slot in advance thereof, said rear wall having curved rear and forward surfaces and being provided with a central aperture, a bearing block having a curved forward face cooperating with said curved rear surface, and a key seat member positioned in said slot and having a curved rear face cooperating with said curved. forward surface of said rear wall, the bearing block being provided with forwardly extending vertically spaced arms embracing said key seat member and serving to connect said block to said key seat member. e 1

3; A car coupler involving a shank member having a rear end wall and a transversely extending slot in advance thereof, said rear wall having curved rear and forward surfaces and being provided with a central aperture, a bearing block having a curved -forward face cooperating with said rear surface, and a key seat member positioned in said slot and having a curved rear face cooperating with said curved forward surface of said rear wall,said bearing block being provided with a central opening and having a plurality of arms projecting forwardly above and below said opening through said aperture, the said arms embracing the key seat member and serving to connect said bearing block to the key seat member.-

4. A car coupler involving a shank member having a rear endwall and a transversely extending slot in advance thereof, said rear wall having curved rear and forward surfaces and being provided with a central aperture a bearing block having a curved forward face cooperating with said curved rear surface, and a key seat member positioned in said slot and having a curved rear face cooperating with said curved forward surface of said rear wall, the bearing block being provided with means extending through said aperture for connecting said block to the key seat member, said means involving arms receiving the key seat member between them, and the couplershank member being formed with recesses to receive said means, said recesses having rearwardly divergent walls.

5. A car coupler involving a shank member having a rear end wall and a transversely extending slot in advance thereof, said rear wall being apertured and having a curved rear surface and'having a forward surface which is curved horizontally and vertically, a bearing block having a curved forward face cooperating with said curved rear surface, a key seat member positioned in said slot and having a horizontally and vertically curved rear face cooperating with said curved forward surface of said rear wall, and means projecting through said apertured rear wall for retaining said bearing block in assembled relation to said shank member.

6. car coupler involving a shank member having a rear end wall and a transversely 

